USA adds 242000 jobs in February, but stuck wages frustrate

Mar 05, 2016, 16:00

The U.S. economy added 242,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent.

Education-wise, the declines in unemployment were across the board with the biggest jump coming in the workers that had less than a high-school degree: the drop was from 9.4 percent past year to 8.2 percent this February.

The Department of Labor revised its December as well as January figures adding another 30,000 jobs collectively over the two months. That would be better than January's gains of 151,000 jobs, and confirmation that the job market is picking up momentum. And, the numbers are near the rate achieved in the late 1970s as labor force participation rose with more and more women entering the work force. "The unemployment rate is declining for virtuous reasons". Despite this increase in job creation, the unemployment rate remained stable at 4.9% because another sign of dynamism, there were more new entrants to the labor market. Employment in construction was up by 253,000 over the last 12 months, with residential specialty contractors accounting for about half of that total. However, she also said that adding 200,000 jobs a month would be necessary to lure back new workers who have dropped out.

A report on Wednesday showed strong private sector hiring last month, suggesting a pick-up in overall job growth.

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But all the news on the jobs front wasn't positive as wages fell after a strong gain in January.

The much-anticipated February 2016 Employment Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released on Friday showed a mixed bag in the USA labor market. Rising labour force participation and continued modest wage inflation are easing the imminent pressure on the Fed to hike interest rates, while strong job growth supports household spending. Auto sales rose 7 percent over last February to 1.3 million vehicles, according to Autodata Corp.

Friday's jobs report will be closely monitored by the Federal Reserve and presidential candidates as a key gauge of whether the economy is extending its 6½-year rebound from the Great Recession. But the gains aren't enough to propel wage growth forward, according to NBC News. Professional and business services was essentially unchanged for the month, and mining fell by 19,000 jobs.

Jobless rates are higher for minorities.

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In addition, added Chris Low of FTN Financial, "lots of poor-quality jobs might encourage the Fed to raise rates, but falling wages and hours should keep them at bay in March at least".

Also, the average work week for employees in the private sector decreased by 0.2 hour to 34.4 hours.

The labour market's resilience was also backed by another report on Thursday showing announced layoffs by USA companies tumbled 18 percent in February.

In January, it reported that gain at 1.6 percent or just over 7,300 jobs.

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